Multipurpose Storage Box

ABSTRACT

A multipurpose storage box comprises a case assembly and a lid. The case assembly is composed of an outer case and an inner case being fixed into the outer case. The outer case defines at its bottom a recess that can engage with the exposed portion of another case assembly of the type to allow case assemblies to be stacked up securely. The lid defines at its bottom a recess that can engage with the exposed portion of the inner case of a top case assembly. The outer case of a case assembly can be fitted over the inner case of an adjacent lower case assembly and spaced therefrom at a predetermined distance to facilitate separation of the case assemblies. The lid can be fitted over the inner case of the top case assembly and spaced therefrom at a predetermined distance to facilitate removal of the lid.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a multipurpose storage box for storing small objects.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Conventional storage boxes for storing small objects are generally composed of a main case for providing a storing space and a lid for sealing the main case. They usually have a base of rectangular or circular shape, but other shapes can also be applied.

Also, the main case of conventional storage boxes is usually provided with a recessed connection portion, which is slightly less than the dimension of the main case. After the lid is fitted over the main case, the lid may totally encase the connection portion of the main case, wherein the bottom edge of the lid will be brought in contact with the edge where the recessed connection portion joins with the main case, which may cause a difficulty in gripping the lid. In addition, since the lid may be fitted with the recessed connection portion snugly, when separating the lid from the main case, vacuum will occur within the storage box. Consequently, it will be difficult for the lid to be removed from the main case.

Besides, conventional storage boxes often lack a secure way of stacking up multiple storage boxes. Even though the conventional storage boxes can be stacked up, they are liable to tumbling down.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a storage box that includes one or more case assemblies and a lid fitted over the to case assembly, wherein the lid can be easily removed from the top case assembly, the case assemblies can be stacked up securely, and the stacked case assemblies can be separated easily.

One feature of the present invention is that each case assembly is formed with an exposed portion, and the lid can be fitted over the exposed portion and spaced at a predetermined distance from the edge where the exposed portion starts, whereby the lid can be separated from the case assembly easily.

Another feature of the present invention is that each case assembly define at its bottom a recess that can engage with the exposed portion of an adjacent lower case assembly, wherein the bottom edge of a case assembly can be spaced at a predetermined distance from the edge of an adjacent lower case assembly where the exposed portion starts, whereby the case assemblies can be separated easily.

The storage box may comprise a case assembly and a lid. The case assembly is composed of an outer case and an inner case being fixed into the outer case and extending vertically out of the outer case to form an exposed portion with a height above a top edge of the outer case. The outer case defines at its bottom a recess that can engage with the exposed portion of another case assembly of the type to allow two or more case assemblies to be stacked up securely. The recess of the outer case has a depth less than the height of the exposed portion of the inner case. The lid defines at its bottom a recess that can engage with the exposed portion of the inner case of a top case assembly, wherein the recess of the lid has a depth less than the height of the exposed portion of the inner case. As such, the outer case of a case assembly can be fitted over the inner case of an adjacent lower case assembly and spaced from the outer case at a predetermined distance to facilitate separation of the case assemblies. The lid can be fitted over the inner case of the top case assembly and spaced from the outer case of the top case assembly at a predetermined distance to facilitate removal of the lid from the inner case of the top case assembly.

To render the storage box a special quality, the outer case and the lid can be made of rigid material, such as bamboo or other wooden material, whereas the inner case can be made of flexible material.

Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of a first embodiment of the present invention, which includes a case assembly and a lid.

FIG. 2 shows a partially exploded view of the first embodiment of the present invention, which includes two case assemblies being stacked up and a lid.

FIG. 3 shows a 3-dimensional view of the first embodiment of the present invention, which includes three case assemblies being stacked up and a lid being fitted over the top case assembly.

FIG. 4 shows an exploded sectional view of the first embodiment of the present invention, which includes three case assemblies and a lid.

FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of the first embodiment of the present invention, which includes three case assemblies being stacked up and a lid being fitted over the top case assembly.

FIG. 6 shows an exploded view of a second embodiment of the present invention, which includes two case assemblies being stacked up and a lid.

FIG. 7 shows a 3-dimensional view of the second embodiment of the present invention, which includes two case assemblies being stacked up and a lid being fitted over the top case assembly.

FIG. 8 shows an exploded view of a third embodiment of the present invention, which includes a case assembly and a lid.

FIG. 9 shows a partially exploded view of the third embodiment of the present invention, which includes two case assemblies being stacked up and a lid.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

To allow those skilled in the art to implement the present invention, various embodiments will be illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings in the following paragraphs.

FIGS. 1 and 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention concerning a multipurpose storage box, which generally comprises at least one case assembly 1 and a lid 2, each of which has a square base. The case assembly 1 is composed of an outer case 11 and an inner case 12. Both cases each define therein a space, wherein the space of the inner case 12 is provided for storing objects and indicated by reference number 121. The square base of the inner case 12 has a dimension substantially the same as the dimension of the space defined in the outer case 11. The inner side surface and the inner bottom surface of the space of the outer case 11 can be coated with adhesive and then the outer case 12 can be inserted into the outer case 11 and attached with the inner side surface and the inner bottom surface of the space of the outer case 11. The inner case 12 has a height greater than the depth of the space of the outer case 11, so that the inner case 12 can be fixed into the outer case 11 and extend vertically out of the outer case 11 to form an exposed portion that has a height above the top edge of the outer case 11. The bottom of the outer case 11 defines a recess 112 by a downwardly projecting wall 111. The recess 112, which corresponds to the exposed portion of the inner case 12, can engage with the exposed portion of another case assembly of the type to allow two or more case assemblies to be stacked up securely. The recess 112 of the outer case 11 has a depth less than the height of the exposed portion of the inner case 12.

The lid 2 defines at its bottom a recess 22, which is enclosed by a peripheral wall 21. The recess 22 can engage with the exposed portion of the inner case 12 of a case assembly. The recess of the lid 2 has a depth less than the height of the exposed portion of the inner case 12.

In the first embodiment, the outer case 11 and the lid 1 can be made of rigid material, such as bamboo or other wooden material, aluminum, and so on, which renders the multipurpose storage box a special quality. On the other hand, the inner case 12 can made of flexible material, which allows the case assemblies to be sealed more properly.

In use, the lid 2 can be placed on top of a top case assembly 1 to allow the recess 22 of the lid 2 to engage with the exposed portion of the inner case 12 of the top case assembly 1, wherein the top edge of the inner case 12 can be brought in contact with the bottom surface of the recess 22. Since the depth of the recess 22 of the lid 2 is less than the height of the exposed portion of the inner case 12, the lid 2 can be fitted over the inner case 12 of the top case assemblies and spaced from the outer case 11 at a predetermined distance (D), between the bottom edge of the lid 2 and the top edge of the outer case 11(see FIGS. 3 and 5). As such, when users want to remove the lid 2 from the top case assembly 1, they may use their fingers to grip the bottom edge of the lid 2 and then applied an upward force to the lid 2; as a result, the lid 2 can be easily removed from the inner case 12 of the top case assembly 1.

The multipurpose storage box allows multiple case assemblies to be stacked up securely. In staking case assemblies, as shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, an upper case assembly can be placed on top of a lower case assembly, wherein the recess 112 of the outer case 11 of the upper case assembly can engage with the exposed portion of the upper case 12 of the lower case assembly (the top edge of the exposed portion of the upper case 12 of the lower case assembly can be brought in contact with the bottom surface of the recess 112 of the outer case 11 of the upper case assembly). Since the depth of the recess 112 of the outer case 12 is less than the height of the exposed portion of the inner case 12, the outer case 11 of the upper case assembly can be fitted over the inner case 12 of the lower case assembly and spaced from the outer case 11 of the lower case assembly at a predetermined distance, between the bottom edge of the outer case 11 of the upper case assembly and the top edge of the outer case 11 of the lower case assembly. As such, when users want to separate the upper case assembly from the lower case assembly, they may use their fingers to grip the bottom edge of the outer case 11 of the upper case assembly and then applied an upward force to the upper case assembly; as a result, the upper case assembly can be easily separated from the lower case assembly.

Although the case assembly 1 and the lid 2 in the first embodiment have a square base, they ca have other shapes of base. For example, a circular base can be used instead of the square base (see FIG. 6, the second embodiment of the present invention), wherein multiple case assemblies of circular base can be stacked up and sealed with a circular lid as well (see FIG. 7). For example, a rectangular base can be used instead of the square base (see FIG. 8, the third embodiment of the present invention), wherein multiple case assemblies of rectangular base can be stacked up and sealed with a rectangular lid 2 as well (see FIG. 9).

Although the present invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure is made by way of example only and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention hereinafter claimed. 

I claim:
 1. A storage box, which comprises a case assembly composed of an outer case and an inner case being fixed into the outer case and extending vertically out of the outer case to form an exposed portion having a height above a top edge of the outer case, the outer case defining at its bottom a recess that can engage with the exposed portion of another case assembly of the type to allow two or more case assemblies to be stacked up securely, wherein the recess of the outer case has a depth less than the height of the exposed portion of the inner case, so that the outer case of a case assembly can be fitted over the inner case of an adjacent lower case assembly and spaced from the outer case of the adjacent lower case assembly at a predetermined distance to facilitate separation of the case assemblies.
 2. The storage box of claim 1, which further comprise a lid defining at its bottom a recess that can engage with the exposed portion of the inner case of a top case assembly, wherein the recess of the lid has a depth less than the height of the exposed portion of the inner case of the top case assembly, so that the lid can be fitted over the inner case of the top case assembly and spaced from the outer case of the top case assembly at a predetermined distance to facilitate removal of the lid from the inner case of the top case assembly.
 3. The storage box of claim 2, wherein the outer case and the lid are made of rigid material whereas the inner case is made of flexible material. 